Clicking on the kitty will refresh the page to the very latest articles.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Free Speech? As Long As Your Message Is Politically Correct

Here is a question. In an enlightened free society, can a publisher’s writings deserve a death sentence? No you say?

Here is a case where your words can cause your hanging. His name was Julius Streicher. He is the late founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper in Germany and an ardent fan and supporter of Adolph Hitler.

Der Stürmer put its full editorial weight behind The Third Reich. Streicher was a proud and unrepentant Nazi who was arrested and tried at Nuremberg as a war criminal. No, Streicher was not a member of the government, military or police but merely a publisher.

Streicher was a rabid anti-Semite who used his hateful publishing to incite political support for his country’s government.

Streicher was the poster boy for hate speech and was a vile and despicable fellow but did he deserve to hang for the words he put on paper? Remember, Der Stürmer was not free like those provocative Internet blogs, people had to pay to read Streicher’s publication.

The answer is clear, if they don’t like what you publish or say you may dance at the end of a rope just like Julius Streicher.